SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION – THE CENTRE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

Science and Technology Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said in her budget speech yesterday, her department is playing a pivotal role in addressing social and economic challenges facing the country. This is her address to Parliament, edited.

This year, our theme is Advancing the Legacy of Mama Albertina Sisulu through people-centred science and technology. Mama Sisulu dedicated her life to fighting for the emancipation of women and the liberation of South Africa.

She acted on her ideal of human rights throughout her life, both as an activist and in her own profession as a nurse, serving with compassion and love for her people.

It is, therefore, fitting that we acknowledge her work as we celebrate her centenary. In her honour, we will continue to build a science system that contributes to transforming the conditions of our people.

In honour of Mama Sisulu we aim to advance the goals set out for us in the National Development Plan to harness science, technology and innovation for the socioeconomic development of all South Africans.

Honourable Members, science, technology and innovation are fundamental also for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by UN member states in 2015. For us to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals contained in the Agenda, we need to galvanise science, technology and innovation across all disciplines to generate the necessary knowledge and lay the foundations needed to address global challenges, today and in the future.

In support of the 2030 Agenda, we will host the first major Southern African conference to focus on the role of science in society and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on the African continent. We will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of our agencies, the Human Sciences Research Council.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION CONTEXT

Science, technology and innovation have the potential to make a far greater impact in our country – to play an instrumental role in improving public service delivery and decision-making for public policy, in increasing the competitiveness of existing firms and forming new technology-based firms, in modernising existing industries such as agriculture and mining while developing emerging industries, and through all of this, in improving the quality of life of our people.

It is against this background that we are finalising a new White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation, and have commissioned the National Advisory Council on Innovation to work on a framework for a new decadal plan.

Our country’s economic prospects have already begun to improve with the ushering in of a new dawn. As a country, we should embrace the potential of science, technology and innovation in seizing the opportunities, and ameliorating the threats, thrown up by an increasingly connected and globalised environment.

Given the current economic climate, characterised by low levels of growth and competing priorities for public funding, it is unlikely that we will reach the MTSF target of growing gross expenditure on research and development to 1,5% of GDP by 2019.

Our gross expenditure on research and development has held steady at about 0,7% of GDP in a challenging environment. On a positive note, the contribution of business to research and development has grown steadily since 1996, placing our country ahead of emerging economies such as Chile and Turkey.

If we are to fulfil our ambitions in the new White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation, and address the priorities set out in the NDP, adequate funding for research and development is key.

Our partners in the BRICS family, India and China, have grown their investment in research and development by 18% and 92% respectively, between 2007 and 2013. By contrast, recent reviews all point to the fact that our national system of innovation is underfunded.

A key imperative of the Department is transformation. There is a need to diversify opportunities for the youth through technology-based youth entrepreneurship and SME development, to grow and develop the research cohort to be representative of the country’s demographics, to increase the participation of women in research and innovation, and to ensure the growth and diversification of the science, technology and innovation institutional landscape.

BUILDING OUR HUMAN CAPITAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE

I am pleased to present the Department of Science and Technology budget vote for 2018/19. Our budget for this financial year is R7,8 billion. Of this, 92% of the total comprises of transfers and subsidies, the 8% remain in the department mainly for administrative expenses. Our public entities receive 38% of the transfers and subsidies in a form of parliamentary grants. The parliament grants for this financial year per entity are as follows:

South African National Space Agency (SANSA) is allocated R138 million;

Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) is allocated R420 million;

Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf) is allocated R25,7 million;

National Research Foundation (NRF) is allocated R904,8 million;

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is allocated R963, 2 million and;

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is allocated R303,7 million.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT, NRF, ASSAF AND SACNASP

An amount of R4,4 billion is allocated to our Research, Development and Support Programme to support, among others, the country’s ambitions as set out in the National Development Plan.

We plan to invest R1,4 billion in the 2018/19 financial year to support at least 10 800 pipeline students (honours and master’s), 3 100 PhD students, 4 500 researchers, and 690 interns. Over the MTEF period this investment will increase to R4,6 billion. Our DST-NRF Internship Programme has supported 4 904. The NRF will place another 1 851 interns over the MTEF period. This empowerment of young people further demonstrates our commitment to advancing the legacy of Mama Sisulu through people-centred science and technology. Furthermore, through the NRF, we have partnered with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme on initiatives that will increase access to funding for financially needy postgraduate students.

I wish to applaud the support from business for our emerging researchers. Through the DST-NRF partnership, the First Rand Foundation has contributed R82,5 million to this initiative, which seeks to increase the proportion of suitably qualified black and female academics and academics with disabilities at South Africa’s public universities through accelerated doctoral and postdoctoral training for full-time academics.

We have set the following targets for this initiative: 90% black African people, and 10% comprising Indian and coloured people and people with disabilities in any discipline or field. Fifty-five percent of all grants will be prioritised for women.

Our support for Phase 1 of the global Square Kilometre Array project will continue over the next three years, with an amount of R2,3 billion set aside over the MTEF period. We have also secured all 42 farm portions required for SKA Phase 1. An allocation of R709 million is provided for the SKA this year.

We will also continue this year with the modernisation of the SAAO telescopes and instruments in Sutherland. We have established the remote observation capabilities for the 1 metre and 1.9 metre telescopes and the commissioning of the new Lesedi telescope. SAAO, in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and international partners, has installed the MeerLICHT telescope on the observation plateau. We plan to launch the MeerLICHT telescope in June this year.

During the period under review, 72 research infrastructure grants were awarded to universities, museums and science councils, through the research equipment programmes of the NRF, as well as targeted projects such as the titanium pilot plant, a manganese precursor pilot plant and hydrogen fuel cell platform for clean mining. We have also continued to implement the thirteen national research infrastructures established under the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR). For the 2018/19 financial year, a total of R654 million has been earmarked for research infrastructure.

An additional R236 million to maintain and expand broadband network connectivity and high performance computing to improve our cyber infrastructure.

The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) receives an allocation of R25,6 million to continue building and transforming the Academy, and to strengthen its leadership role on our continent and beyond.

We plan to finalise the first phase of a scientometric study to determine the state of the basic sciences in the country in terms of support, vulnerability and impact. The Department has commissioned the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology at the University of Stellenbosch to conduct this study. Its outcomes will influence the deployment of resources to build capacity and capability in this area.

HARNESSING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Our innovation Programmes, Socio-economic Innovation Partnerships and Technology Innovation, receive an allocation of R1,8 billion and R1,1 billion respectively.

As part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, we plan to launch the Mandela Mining Precinct in Carlow Road, Johannesburg. This is a major milestone for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, as it promotes industry innovation partnerships. We have transformed an under-utilised facility into a space where researchers and the mining industry can generate the knowledge and technologies essential for next-generation mining.

As a result of the partnership, the Department will invest R186 million over the next three years – starting with R63 million this year – in targeted research and development to support the next generation of mining. Industry, for its part, has committed a co-investment of R33 million in the initiative, and for this they should be applauded.

Our attempts to foster industrial and scientific research in the national interest through multidisciplinary research and technological innovation will continue to be implemented through the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

I also wish to applaud the CSIR’s National Centre for Nano-Structured Materials, which marked 10 years of existence last year. The centre conducts world-class research and development in nanotechnology, and has supported more than 130 postdoctoral fellows, PhD and master’s students, and produced top rated articles with more than 8 000 citations.

Our Industry Innovation Programme, which has led to the establishment of the Biomanufacturing Industry Development Centre and the Nanomaterials Industrial Development Facility, will this year launch the Nanomicro Device Manufacturing Facility.

Our economy is in need of significant investments in both agriculture and manufacturing.

The Department’s investments to date have assisted the agricultural sector to improve its export products. Over the next three years, we have set aside a further R70 million to build on what we have achieved in increasing levels of co-funding through our Sector Innovation Funds.

We will also continue to expand our mLab initiative beyond Gauteng and the Western Cape. MLabs play a vital role in helping entepreneurs and SMEs in the ICT sector to take advantage of the growing mobile application economy, providing young people with opportunities to gain highly sought after coding skills, participate in industrial research and development and establish new businesses.

This is in line with creating new skills required in the fourth industrial society.

Members of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology recently had an opportunity to visit the AgriProtein fly farm, which uses technology to convert waste into nutrients for animal feed. The Department, through the TIA, invested R11,9 million to expand this facility from a tiny research site in Stellenbosch to a fullscale factory of about 10 000 square metres in the heart of Philippi.

The facility in Philippi, an economically distressed area, has secured approximately 85 million US dollars for licencing and rolling out the technology locally and internationally. An additional two plants are being developed in Gauteng and KwaZuluNatal.

Our Wheat Breeding project, in partnership with the University of Stellenbosch and GrainSA, is another initiative that will help the country to reduce its reliance on imports. According to GrainSA, we currently import 40-50% of our wheat consumption, to cover an annual average shortfall in production of 1,3 million tons. The Wheat Breeding project will therefore contribute to reducing the country’s current account deficit.

Furthermore, in our quest to support industry, we intend to launch a fully operational photonics facility. To this end, we are working on the development of a low-cost, robust and reproducible miniaturised rangefinder for the archery industry, as well as the second prototype for a fingerprint sensor that can extract 3D internal fingerprints from both live and latent fingerprints.

This is a particularly worthwhile investment, as our government holds a 47,5% stake in Biovac.

Biovac has also secured contracts in the SADC region, and over the past five years has attracted foreign direct investment through technology transfers from leading companies such as Sanofi in France and Pfizer in the USA. We are also joined in the gallery by Dr Morena Mokhoana, the CEO of Biovac, Cecile Ann McBride, Glynnis Adams, Zamachunu Mchunu and Ncumisa Matu, who are workers from the plant.

Last month, I launched a 3-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell system at Poelano Secondary, a disadvantaged school on the farm Goedgevonden in Ventersdorp, North West. We have invested R10 million in the project to provide the school with an alternative clean energy source.

This project demonstrates to learners, teachers and the community that science can solve socio-economic problems, especially in rural areas. The project was implemented through our Hydrogen South Africa Programme, which uses platinum group metal resources, and innovative hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, to enable the development of high-value commercial activities.

We will continue to pursue solutions in the public transport sector, using HySA technology in support of the Department of Trade and Industry programme to roll out hydrogen fuel cell buses in metropolitan areas.

Our work on HySA was profiled at an International Energy Expo in Khazakhstan last year. An amount of R67 million is set aside for the continued implementation of our hydrogen strategy.

In the previous financial year the Department set aside R2 million for a pilot model to empower grassroots innovators to leverage value from their innovations. The pilot was informed by the many young and unemployed innovators who use local resources to develop promising technologies and solutions outside of formal institutions.

We will also continue to work within the multilateral arena to ensure South Africa contributes optimally to the global effort to harness science and technology for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.